Lieutenant no-one
by Beatrix1
Summary: Just what is the story behind Nadesico's most unnoticed and unvalued staff member?
1. Default Chapter

NOTE: You may encounter some Japanese words in this story. Arigato/Thanks, Baka/Idiot, Sempai/Senior, Hai/Yes, Kancho/Captain. Also, I have no idea where I'm going in this story, so for now it remains like this, not very good, not very clear. The thing is, Keruri is boring. She's an interesting character and she's mysterious, but she doesn't actully DO anything. So, until I figure out an actull PLOT for my character, this is what we have.  
  
"Arigato, sempai."  
"No problem Ruri, keep an eye on it okay? Call me if anything is not right."  
"Hai, sempai."  
Ruri went back to work, and Minato watched as the strange girl left the bridge.  
"Ruri-ruri, did you just call that girl sempai?" Minato asked.  
"Correct, she is my senior." Ruri answered, not looking up from the control panel.   
"Ruri-ruri, aren't you the head of Nadesico's computer section?"  
"I am in charge of operating the computer system, Keruri-sempai takes care of the computer administration and programming errors. But since Omoikane is so advanced, she is rarely needed."  
"I see." Minato said thoughtfully.  
"But Ruri-chan," piped up Megumi, who had been listening from her post, "Couldn't you have fixed a small problem like that?"  
"In theory yes, although I have no training in systems analysis, I would be capable of doing it. Keruri-sempai was hired to take care of those problems, assuming I would be busy with other duties."  
"Assuming is right," yawned Meg as she went back to reading her magazine.  
"But I still don't see how you can have a senior," Minato persisted.   
"Lieutenant Denki is second in charge of Nergal's programming section. She is senior to everyone on this ship except for the Captain and the Admiral. Nadesico's third highest ranking officer."  
"That girl? Really?" Meg asked surprised, looking up from her magazine again.  
"Hai, Lietenant Denki Keruri was one of Nergals best programmers."  
"Was?" asked Minato. But before Ruri could reply, the Caption burst in.  
"Oh! What are we going to do!" she ran down the front and grabbed Ruri by the shoulders, "Ruri we have to get the computer back online, without it we're doomed!"  
"But Kancho-"  
"I sent for the maintenance department 10 minutes ago and they're still not here, where could they be?" she buried her face in her hands, "Without our computer, the Nadesico is practically useless. Our tech department is really terrible, in a situation like this they should be here already."  
"Kancho-"  
"This problem is estimated to take 3 hours to repair and we have to get on to it right away, I don't know what would happen if the Admiral were to find out about this," she looked towards the ceiling of the bridge, "Akito, I promise I'll get everything in order, so you can do your best!"  
"Captain Yurika" the Admiral's face appeared on a screen in the air in front of her. Yurika jumped back in shock. "Well done on getting the computer problem sorted out, things are all back on track."  
"Ah, hai…." Said Yurika, dumbfounded. The Admiral's face disappeared.   
"Kacho," said Ruri, for the third time, "the computer system is back online, no data errors remain."  
Yurika's face took a surprised expression, she looked at Ruri, to the computer, to the screens in front of her, then back to Ruri, then started to laugh.  
"Baka."  



	2. learning more

Meanwhile, an officer in a different uniform strolled the corridors of the Nadesico, heading for the cafeteria.   
"Denki!" a voice shouted out to her, "Denki!"   
Keruri turned around and recognized the man running towards her as the head technical engineer. She would really have to start learning people's names. He stopped in front of her, out of breath from running.  
"Denki, what are you doing? The captain's frantic, you have to get to the bridge right away!"  
"The bridge? But I was just there."  
"You were there and they didn't tell you about the computer problem?" he asked, astonished.  
"The computer? Oh, I've fixed that already. Relax."  
His astonishment grew. "You mean the programming faults and the hardware failures? That computer problem?"  
Keruri nodded, "and the network links, they needed re-programming too."  
"Your finished already?" he asked.  
Keruri smiled, "yes, it only took a few minutes."  
"I see." He replied, and with that, Keruri continued on her way. Seiya was still standing in the hall thinking about what he had just heard when Hikaru came around the corner.  
"Ohayo Seiya!"  
"Ohayo gozaimasu Hikaru," he replied, while watching Keruri walk off in the distance.  
"What you up to?" Hikaru asked, following his gaze, "Hmmm? Who's the girl in the weird uniform?"  
"A technician."  
"Really? What sort?"   
"I have no idea."  
  
In the cafeteria Izumi sat stirring her coffee. She looked up and watched as a blue haired girl came through the door, ordered a ramen then sat down on the other side of the room. Izumi recognised the girl vaguely, she had seen Ryoko talking to her once. She picked up her coffee and moved to the seat next to the blue haired girl.  
"You wear the same uniform as the Captain," she said, "but its blue." She paused for a second, then began to laugh. "Captain Aoi!" * she said, laughing harder at her own joke. Keruri looked up at the strange girl who had just invited herself to her table, not sure what to think. Also not sure of what to say, so she said nothing. The other girl said nothing either. Unable to bear the silence, Keruri spoke,  
"Uh, I'm from a different branch, this is the common uniform there." She wondered briefly if anyone on this ship had ever seen a uniform like hers before. She doubted they had, which was why no one knew she was an officer. She liked it that way, no one wanted to be known as a former 2ic come nobody. Izumi slipped out of her seat and disappeared as quickly as she came. Keruri sighed and slumped down in her chair. Before this morning's computer problem, she had barely worked at all since arriving on the Nadesico. Still, she was grateful for the position Prospector had offered her. The pay was lousy, at least compared to what she was used to, but it wasn't like she did any work anyway. In fact, she didn't do much at all, just waited to die really.  
  
* Aoi, in addition to being Jun's last name, is the Japanese word for the colour blue.  



End file.
